Remote Work Technology And Techniques (TNT) Blog

Photo by Mabel Amber at Pexels. Creative Commons License. Remote work means working the hours that make the most sense for the individual. Perhaps because it's so freeform, it's that much harder to know when to take a break, and actually take it on schedule. No one else is there to say "start now," "stop in three hours for a break," and "stop altogether after eight hours." And what if you're having a really great productive day, the Wi-Fi is behaving, and you're experiencing something like runner's high? Why not just crank away, possibly into the wee hours? Many freelance and remote workers feel guilty for finding a stopping place or calling it a day. But breaks are crucial for bringing one's best [...]

Being able to interview from your office at home, a coworking spot, or a neighborhood café is definitely convenient. In some ways, it's less nerve wracking than the in-person interview: no worries about traffic, bad directions, and parking. You're going to a place you are comfortable and familiar with. Yet online interviews present a whole new set of challenges. A candidate can easily disqualify themselves by being too casual and comfortable, not planning ahead for tech malfunctions, or failing to prepare for how he/she will present their work to an employer from a remote setting. Here are ten things you want to avoid: Don't dress too sloppily or casually. Dress like you take the meeting seriously. Don't pull wrinkled clothes out of the pile and hope for [...]

Brother Mobile Scanner DS-720D – This scanner is always on the road with us, and it's proven to be vital for creating backup copies of financial, legal, and other important documents. We like to have backup copies of every document. This scanner can scan in color, black and white and grayscale. It can scan single-sided or double-sided in one swipe. Simply check a "duplex" box in the box to indicate "double-sided." The software is excellent at managing multi-page documents; the user simply hits "OK" to continue scanning into the same file, or "Cancel" to complete the job. All scans are automatically titled Image <<00#>> in the Documents file. It's best to rename the files as you go, but if not the software will not save [...]

One of the biggest advantages of remote work is being able to work from anywhere. This may include some of your favorite restaurants, cafes, or bookstores. Unfortunately, a lot of people congregate in these areas, and that means lots of noise and easy distraction for the average remote worker. It also makes making calls or recording on location podcast shows very difficult. What tools make this easier? Headsets, earbuds, and microphones definitely help, but they are all not designed the same. A key feature of these tools are noise canceling and noise isolation, but what is the difference between those two terms? They can sound synonymous, but they actually indicate different features, and are utilized in different ways. It doesn't help that some marketing [...]

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash One way to maximize TV watching time is to perform computer maintenance that's all too easy to put off, if not forget entirely, until a crisis occurs. Here's five things you can do to help your home computer running optimally while you watch the game or a movie: Run Antivirus Perform hard drive backups Check for system and applications updates and install them Empty your browser cache (and don't forget to empty the recycle bin/trash) Sync your tablet and phone with your computer (if you have this functionality) Image Credit:Steve Johnson on Unsplash

200W Step Down Voltage Converter – One of the advantages of remote work is the ability to travel. What many digital nomads learn is that there are lots of different power outlets and voltage standards around the world. This converter will allow you to plug in your 120V electronics in a 240V outlet, which are common outside of North America. Don’t expect to be able to run a hair dryer off this converter, but at 200 watts you should be able to run most of your work-related electronics just fine. When paired with an outlet converter, North Americans should be able to get the power they need when traveling to other countries and continents (but check the web to find out just to be certain). Many devices will support 240V [...]

WhatsApp – In 2009, two former Yahoo employees sought to create a messaging service that was affordable, ad-free, and didn't need to collect much in the way of names and personal demographics (gender, age, address, etc.) to get an account. Using these three unique strategies in the social media market paid off. Five years in, WhatsApp was bought by Facebook for $19 million dollars. At the time of that offer, it had 450 million active users. Digital nomads took note that WhatsApp is a great tool to text and share photos quickly, especially with friends and family who are in other countries. It's like the more common text messaging and multi-media messaging available on cellular networks, but WhatsApp uses the phone's data connection instead, so it works [...]

Photo from Pixabay. All rights reserved. Private Internet Access – Being a remote worker means having the convenience of working from anywhere with a Wi-Fi signal. Using a VPN, though, helps keep remote workers more secure when using public Wi-Fi or other networks. We have a home router with built-in VPN, but we also have Private Internet Access as a backup solution when we travel. After some recent articles on the insecurity of public Wi-Fi networks, using a VPN just makes sense to help keep our data safe. Private Internet Access is one of many companies providing VPN services today. We like Private Internet Access because it is incredibly affordable, works on just about any operating system and mobile device. After reading many reviews on VPN [...]

Lapdome – I like to work outside when I can, even though I have a home office. Once you have the ability to work outside, exotic work locales become a real possibility. I consider the ability to work outside another perk of remote work. As anyone who has tried to do work outdoors knows, glare is your enemy. The best equipment I had found to counter the glare was the Moshi anti-glare screen protector, which admittedly does a very good job. But it's not perfect, as I often end up moving around a bit to find the best spot to sit with the least amount of glare. During July's Amazon Prime Day, one of the items on special was the Lapdome. It looked like the perfect solution to the problem of [...]

These are the technologies and techniques (TNT) that we (and others) have found useful for remote work. Feel free to send us a review of a remote work technology or technique you’ve found useful. For more information about this section of the site (including our views on the inclusion of ads, paid reviews, and use of affiliate links), please see the About TNT page.